Rule the Game
by Shiro Ryuu
Summary: So it came to this, then. Do the darn homework already, or... Or call HIM. Hmm... He was DOOMED. JouxYuugi
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** Yu-gi-oh and all its characters are property of blah blah blah (myself _not _included).

**AN:** No, I really _don't _have anything to say for myself. Except... major stress-relief time! The thing is, I'm not in the habit of posting stuff without having finished the whole story. I really have no idea what came over me, nervous grin. Onward!

Xooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**_Prologue_**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooX

So it came to this, then.

Do the darn homework already, or...

Jonouchi glanced superficially at the phone out of the corner of his eye. Er... Or call _him_.

He groaned vaguely, plopped down on the floor, and ran a hand roughly through his hair.

He was _doomed_...

No! he suddenly chided himself. He was _lucky_, was what he was. Lucky to be able to even _consider _calling him; lucky because he knew someone would pick up on the other end. After he'd gone and done something so extraordinarily, undeniably _stupid_, well, it took a special kind of person to... to what...?

Humor him, or something...?

He squashed that thought with lightening reflexes.

And so, because he used to call him nearly every night, because he hadn't called him more than once or twice in the past month - _month, _really, already? -, because it was Christmas Eve - for whatever the reason, he picked up the phone and dialed Yuugi's number. He was somewhat surprised that he still remembered the number as easily as he always did.

Then he listened to it ring once... twice...

There were butterflies in his stomach. Butterflies were for _girls_.

...three times...

He fidgeted desperately with a button from the top of his dresser. 'We are. Only. Friends! _Only_.'

...four...

"Hello!" boomed an unmistakable, elderly voice.

Jou jumped. "Ah..."

"...You have reached the Kami Game shop..."

He flushed, and hung the phone up again with perhaps more force was entirely warranted.

Then he stared at it for a very, very long time.

He could try again...

In a little while...

He sighed. What kind of teacher assigned homework over winter break, anyway? It really wasn't fair at all...

XoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooX

**AN:** So. The one page chapter. One page and four lines, actually, and that's without author's notes. So it's not really so bad. (smile) Please review! I've been having a bit of a general writing crisis lately, and lack of confidence from lack of reviews is certainly not helping matters. So this was written as a whim, on the spur of the moment, with little or no thought. So? If you didn't like it, review anyway and tell me what I did wrong. There will be more following! Incidentally, merry Christmas :)


	2. Party of One

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any characters in Yu-gi-oh, but I _do _own a kitten named Shizuka :D Just like WacDonalds and Burger World, Mal-Mart is _totally_ an original creation, _really_.

**AN: **I bet no one ever expected _this_ to be updated! I got a pretty motivational review recently, from Nny2you on ff net, and I decided that maybe I'd better give this story another go (I'd almost forgotten about it...). On another note, have any of you ever read the doujinshi manga 'Rule the Game'? Neither have I, but I've seen some scans. So cute! Hence the title. That's right - the title of this story has absolutely nothing to do with the plot... but there's a good reason for this. You guessed it... there is no plot :D I'm still working on that. More angsty in this chapter, I think; I'll try to keep it under control o.o;

* * *

**_Chapter One: Party of One_**

* * *

It had just sort of slipped out. That was, after all, the way Jou said most things.

It had happened about a month ago. He'd been over at the game shop after hours, watching movies, just him and Yuugi. They were talking idly about a cute new transfer student, and he'd just sort of... said it.

'I have a crush on someone.'

What he hadn't expected, though it would have been obvious had he actually bothered to _think_, was how persistent Yuugi would be. Jou supposed, in retrospect, that he'd said it because he had wanted advice, and Yuugi was his most trusted friend. Maybe he'd also been hoping that, somehow, Yuugi would say something that would damn him to hypocrisy - something really wise, like, 'no matter who she is, I'm sure she'll accept you, if she's worth your attention in the first place'... But as it turned out, he wouldn't say anything without a name. When Jou wouldn't answer, he tackled him - playfully, in spite of the size difference - and had pinned him to the floor...

Jou's problem, he later mused, was that he had such a horribly _open_, innocent face. It made it so impossible to lie, especially to friends. On top of the already overwhelming evidence of his expression - shocked and so vulnerable on his back - the fact that he never did say anything at all just proved it.

* * *

So. Christmas Day. Giving. GETTING. Santa Claus.

Jonouchi lazed in bed Christmas morning, though he had in fact been awake already for some time. He knew without looking that there were no presents under the tree to go bounding off towards. There wasn't even a tree. This just wasn't that sort of house, really.

As he examined the pattern of cracks on his ceiling, he wondered without any real interest what he should do today. He wouldn't mind staying here all day, maybe finishing up that homework, except his dad was bound to wake up eventually. Maybe he could go hang at the arcade, if it was open...

These hazy plans were abruptly shattered, and Jou was suddenly jolted into action, when the phone rang.

He kept the receiver in his room for faster access. He fumbled for it and answered it on the second ring, fairly confident that it had been fast enough to not wake the old geezer up. "Yo?"

"Hi, Jou."

As simple as that. He didn't even say 'um', though his voice was a little quiet. Jou sat down heavily on the floor, and took a moment to respond: "Hey, Yug'..."

The awkward silence only lasted for a few moments, just enough to be undeniably noticeable. Then Yuugi laughed at nothing in particular, and said, "Well, I just wanted to know if you were coming to the party tonight. Honda, Anzu and Ryou are all spending the night, too."

Jou felt a helpless, terrified grin tugging at his lips, and he wondered just what exactly he was afraid of - there were so many possibilities, after all. "Cool. What time?"

"Six. There'll be dinner."

"Okay. I'll be there." Then, almost without meaning to, Jou added: "See you then."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye..."

The line went dead. Jou dropped the phone to the floor and lay back in a pile of mixed clean and dirty clothes. He had a bad habit of cross-examining and psychoanalyzing every conversation he had after the fact, at least when it was a conversation with a _certain someone_... But in this case, there was really nothing _to _examine. Yuugi had called for an answer to a question, and nothing else. No friendly conversation. No friendly intimacy...

Jou was startled to realize that he actually didn't want to go to this party. A month later, he was starting to get really disgusted with this whole situation. He felt ashamed of himself - especially if not only because he'd hadn't even been brave enough to actually _say _anythingto explain his feelings at all. It was more than that, though. He couldn't really understand it, but he could swear that he was actually starting to _hate _Yuugi...

So it was very odd indeed that the thought of seeing his face was what moved him to stand, sighing, and head out to do some very belated Christmas shopping.

* * *

Odder still was the way that, by the time he'd finished his shopping and blown the rest of the time left until six just messing around (the arcade _was _closed after all), Jou was actually feeling pretty good. He'd bought pastilles for Anzu - fashion designer was her second choice after dancing - a new bike helmet for Honda - he had just dented his old one a couple weeks ago, to no one's surprise - and some chocolate for Ryou - because he didn't know him as well as the others, but he did know that the guy really liked sweets. Yuugi had taken a little more thought than maybe he should have, but in the end Jou had swung by Otogi's shop and picked up a few packages of Dungeon Dice. Perfectly ordinary and careless. He was totally broke now, of course, but he thought he'd done well.

As he walked down Yuugi's street, he diligently ignored the steadily growing feeling of nausea deep in his stomach.

Yuugi's jii-san let him in at the door and pointed him to the back room, though he could have found it on his own by following the sound of teenage laughter. Everyone else was already there; he greeted them with a cheerful 'yo', and plunked the Mal-Mart bag of hastily wrapped gifts down on the table. As they drew him into the conversation they'd been having, he made a special effort to make eye contact with Yuugi, but he couldn't really find anything much to say to him.

Now that they had all shown up, they left the small den for the equally small dining room/kitchen, all in the back of the store. It was fairly cramped with five teenagers and a man, but they made it work as always. It was a cheerful meal, Jou knew, with good food and pleasant conversation, but most of the latter was over his head because he was busy ignoring the fact that he'd somehow wound up sitting next to Yuugi.

_This... isn't working..._

The awkwardness between them really amazed him. It never used to be anything like this. Even when they'd seen each other at school afterwards, it hadn't been this awkward. It seemed that things had somehow gotten worse instead of better after spending the last week apart... When their hands crossed paths reaching across the table, Jou had jumped, as startled as if someone had suddenly shouted. Infinitely worse, though, was how Yuugi had ignored it, hadn't even looked his way.

What amazed him most of all was the way no one said anything. He felt like he was carrying a big sign around his neck that weighed him down and announced his shame and strangeness to the world, but even if they couldn't see that, surely they could see the tension between these two supposed best friends? The conversation continued normally. 'But then again,' he thought, 'tension between the two of us is so crazy, they probably think they're just imagining it...'

By the time they got to the gifts, he was feeling pretty miserable. He would never have thought that being around Yuugi could make him feel like shit; life was just _full _of surprises these days... He still managed to keep on a good face, however. People gave him various things and he thanked them accordingly, but he really wasn't paying attention. Then he handed out his gifts. They all seemed to go over pretty well... and then Yuugi actually spoke directly to him for the first time that evening.

"Oh, thanks... Actually, jii-san is carrying these now. He just started a couple weeks ago; I thought I told you. Can you believe it?"

Jou laughed cheerily. "No way, who'd have thought... sorry, I guess you have a million of these already, then..."

It wasn't a real apology. 'It's his own damn fault!' snarled a malicious little bit of him that he didn't recognize. 'He _knows _he didn't tell you, he always would've told you something like that...' For the rest of the evening, Jou became increasingly withdrawn as he festered in secret irritation.

The rest of the evening was a long time to smolder. They sat around the table talking for a long time after all the gifts had been opened. A few card games were played, and a few games of Dungeon Dice as well - everyone else had apparently started playing it as soon as Kami game shop had started carrying it, which made Jou a very sore loser indeed. Add to that a couple movies and massive amounts of popcorn, and it was nearly two o'clock, December 26th, when they finally got to bed.

Anzu got the living room all to herself, and the four boys crowded in to Yuugi's room. There was enough space that three of them could sleep on simple futons on the floor; Yuugi gave his bed to Ryou. Jou was tired, but the futon just wasn't that comfortable. He tossed and turned...

Yuugi was just on the other side of Honda. Just over there. He... really, really hated him...

He was just being such a jerk about this, Jou reasoned. Yuugi was supposed to be his best friend; why did he have to freak out like this? He was sure he wasn't overreacting; this nervousness was real, so obvious in the way that Yuugi didn't look at him now when he talked. Yuugi could've at least asked... He was supposed to be his best friend; didn't he even want to know what he was feeling? If he'd just asked, Jou was sure he would have told him. He would have told him about how Yuugi just seemed so perfect to him, so innocent and brave and smart and something he wanted to protect forever... But maybe he wasn't everything Jou had thought he was.

Somehow or another, he wound up on his feet. He hesitated, because this was another stupid thing that he really needed to think through except that he didn't want to and he was trembling and he'd just caught sight of Yuugi's sleeping face in the moonlight... He looked away, because it was really too much for him right now, and that was enough to get out of there - out of the bedroom and then out of the game shop...

* * *

A door slammed downstairs. It wasn't loud enough to wake anyone else up, but Yuugi stirred. He knew the sounds his own house made, so he knew when something was out of place.

When he opened his eyes, he immediately noticed that the bedroom door was open. It took him a moment to put two and two together, but then he sat up to take a quick head count and came up one short.

Yuugi stared at the empty futon for a long time. He was so tired... it was so late - and cold... Even so, he told himself, he _wanted _to go after him, but he had to be practical. How would he ever find him? Jou knew the streets so much better than he did, and it was dangerous out there at night-

'_I will help you, if you want...' _a gentle voice whispered to him.

"I... don't-" He drew a deep breath with some difficulty, and started over. _'Okay. But I only want to check his place, and then I'm coming back. I wouldn't know where else to look, and it's really cold.'_

Of course he knew that, a couple months ago, he would have been waking everybody else up to help him, and they would've searched every building and alley in the city if necessary. It was only the logical thing to do. He also ignored that he had actually thought about not looking at all. It was just that, well... he was so tired...

* * *

**AN: **Ooh, drama-rama. I can't decide if this story is really good, or really bad. This may depend on who's reading it. I think I'm drawing overmuch on personal experience, I hope I'm still managing to keep everyone IC. I also don't think this sounded much like the first part -.-;; The problem is, I got a hold of a plot during this chapter, and it's screwed everything up. Plus, of course, it's been like five months, heh. I hate the drama! I know I need to tone it down, but I'm not sure how. (sweatdrop) I guess I should work in some funny parts...? Well, please let me know what you think, mina-san. It's my birthday, so review! (I turned seventeen today, w00t).


	3. Two is Company

**Disclaimer: **I own Yu-gi-oh like I own a pair of matching socks.

**AN: **_This _time, I'm writing under the influence of Lois McMaster Bujold (the latest edition to my one-of-the-greatest-authors-of-all-time list, and incidentally, just the thing for people who like short heroes!). Sorry for the delay - again - it was mainly because of, well, Lois McMaster Bujold o.-; Plus, of course, the story is fighting me like a wet cat, no surprise there... Just one more chapter to go, though! Thanx to those who reviewed the last chapter; feedback is always sincerely appreciated ;) More drama, the official song for this story is now 'Hate Me' by Blue October... because, um, I like it...?

* * *

_**Chapter Two: Two is Company**_

* * *

The three A.M. sky over Domino was lost behind rusty clouds hung crushingly low with promises of precipitation, in one form or another. Yuugi shuddered his way down the mostly quiet streets, and wished he'd thrown on an extra layer.

Jou had only had one thin old coat...

'_Aibou...?' _Yuugi suppressed the instinct to jump; his dark's voice was dead serious, like ice water. _'When you find him, just what do you intend to do...?'_

Yuugi sensed something chastising in that tone, and sighed, knowing that he probably deserved it. The truth was, he was a bit afraid, and not just of pitch alleyways and barred windows; he didn't really have a clue what he'd _say_, but he knew that he absolutely had to get him to come back, somehow, before anyone woke up and found them gone. What was that, anyway - guilt? But was he trying to protect Jou's secret... or his...?

'_You are troubled,' _Yami stated, and this time the tone was obviously stern. _'A confrontation in this state will almost certainly not go the way you want it to - calm yourself.'_

Yuugi bowed his head. _No sympathy. _But then, it wasn't like he'd been expecting it; he and the spirit hadn't really talked about Jou's confession, or about Yuugi's response to it, but he had a feeling that he'd got the gist of Yami's opinion of the affair. He suspected that the pharaoh didn't think too highly of _either _of them at this point... "Yes, Yami," he mumbled to his shoes.

'_Now,' _Yami continued, sounding more approving, _'what are you going to do? Are you going to apologize?'_

Yuugi frowned. _'Apologize-?'_

'_Yes, for how cold you've been today.' _Yuugi could only manage to send him static, the equivalent of stammering, before Yami overrode him. _'Don't try to excuse yourself - you recoiled from him, wouldn't meet his eyes, couldn't talk to him.'_

'_But...' _Yuugi balled his fists, miserable. _'But if I do that - apologize - what if he thinks -?'_

A static from Yami, now, full of frustration. _'You two - both so -' _There was a moment of silence, as he got himself somewhat under control. _'He must think he's disgusting now,' _Yami whispered coldly. _'If you want that, you should just go home now. One way or another, is it really so hard to speak your mind...?'_

Yuugi was a bit distressed to find water gathering in his eyes - especially unpleasant in this weather - but his pained grimace was prematurely terminated by a sudden adrenaline rush. Yami's ghostly presence was by him in an instant as he jumped to face a near-by alley. There had been a rattling crash of a trashcan lid being knocked to the ground - maybe just an alley cat - but he could've sworn he'd heard a distinctly human-sounding yelp... Yuugi squinted in, and murmured a disbelieving: "Jou...?"

The reply was a long time coming, and totally emotionless. "Go home, Yug'. It's dangerous out here."

Yuugi's eyes widened. "Jou-!" Another rattle, and then a silhouette could be seen vaulting the low wall at the end of the alley -

'_Go after him!' _Yami snapped, but Yuugi shook his head.

'_I... don't think he wants to see me right now...' _he said, and cursed himself for how plaintive he sounded.

* * *

Jou slept on the street that night. The problems with this are immediately apparent - it is not nearly as simple as it sounds, to sleep on the street in that kind of weather - but he'd done it before, times when his old man was in a bad way. He had a place ready, complete with a set of foul old blankets and some basic nonperishables - but even so, he wound up slinking back into his house at a quarter to five for some extra coats.

He passed the night huddled in his miserable little hidden corner, to think miserable thoughts in nothing but his own miserable company. He reached the conclusion early on that he was now officially clinically insane.

But then again, Jonouchi Katsuya never had been the type to come up with plans, after all. It was all pretty normal, if you looked at it that way. He had thought something along the lines of 'him - here - can't - stifling -", and had fled. He curled up tighter in his cocoon, trying to expose as little surface area as possible. Now, after the fact, after he'd essentially ruined his life, _now_ he stopped to think...

He laughed to himself, and the sound was hemmed with hysteria. Oh, yes, 'ruined his life' - he thought he'd wrecked it before, when he'd basically told his _best friend_ that he had a crush on him - and he hadn't even managed to get _that_ right - but no, this was much worse. When the others were wondering in the morning where he'd gone, would Yuugi tell them? How could he blame him, if he did? And even if he didn't, how the hell was he supposed to go back to school in a week? He couldn't face them - he'd have to become a drop-out -

He laughed, witlessly, until he cried.

* * *

Contrary to his nature, Yuugi sat silent at the kitchen island and let Anzu do the talking. He tried to pass his passivity off as mere sleepiness by keeping his eyes half-lidded and mulling on his unaccustomed cup of coffee. He also tried not to fidget, but he couldn't stop his fingers from beating out a nervous tattoo in synch with the rhythm of the whispers in his head.

'_...I can't believe... both so... you should've done... should've said... should've gone...'_

That night, after they had lost Jou, Yami had immediately insisted that Yuugi tell his friends what was going on, because 'things were starting to become unreasonable'. Yuugi had protested that Jou should be the one to tell them, and Yami had called _that_ unreasonable, too. Yuugi had then retorted that maybe he just wasn't feeling too reasonable right now, which he supposed was true. They hadn't talked much after that, and when Yuugi had told his friends this morning that he had no idea where Jou'd gone, Yami had cut off communications completely; his mental ranting, however, seemed to be powerful enough to seep into Yuugi's mind anyway.

_But it's not my fault... if I don't love him like that. Why can't we just be friends, like always...?_

Yuugi abruptly downed the remainder of his coffee in one gulp and a grimace, and tried to pay attention.

"...So I'll go check the cinema. Bakura-kun, that means the arcade will be up to you." The brunette frowned slightly. "Honda-kun, will you be okay checking his house?" Honda nodded solemnly. "Thanks... and, Yuugi-kun, you can go look around the pizza place, okay?" She eyed him critically, as if just really seeing him for the first time that morning. "Hey - you're not sick, are you?"

Yuugi forced a smile, eyes wide with innocence. "Naw. I'm still just waking up, I guess - I'll be fine." She smiled in relief - just for him - something fluttered in his stomach... He flinched a moment later, however, at a fresh surge of rage on Yami's part.

Yuugi managed to keep up his smiling façade on the outside, but as soon as they went their separate ways, it dropped away in favor of a frown. Perhaps he should get angry, too? Surely he was entitled. _I can't help who I love!_

As he walked slowly to the pizza place, however, Yami's voice dulled to surf lapping the shore, and he found that he didn't have quite the energy. It was sleeting lightly; that tended to put things in perspective, especially when one had forgotten a scarf. Presently Yami's ghost appeared by his side, silent but companionable, and Yuugi smiled sadly.

* * *

After the first night, Jou deemed it safe to return to his house to sleep, as long as he was careful to show up late and leave early. The improvement in comfort was, of course, purely physical; he had normally slept at Honda's house more often than not because his own house made him so nervous. Just as long as the old bastard never sobered up enough to stagger to his feet, he told himself, he'd be fine.

During the first few days, he hung out at the mall - squandering his meager savings at a steady trickle on cheap fast food - until he spotted Ryou and Anzu at the arcade. On the forth day, he weathered a small blizzard in a dingy little café near his home, ordering cup after cup of cappuccino so they'd let him stay until he was thoroughly sick of the stuff. Other than the pushy owner, no one bothered him, for which he was eternally grateful. He stared into his gently steaming mug with grim intent.

There didn't seem to be anything for him to do, he reflected, but wait for his lost sanity to return. He didn't seem to be having much luck on that front so far. He inhaled the rising steam experimentally, and wrinkled his nose. Perhaps...

Perhaps, by the time school started - _three days three days three days! - _he firmly pushed the mounting panic back. Maybe, by the time school started, he could come up with a believable excuse. Kidnapped by old gang rivals in the dark of night - beaten and brutally abused - a daring escape - a car chase (every good movie had one, how could it hurt?) - caught again, thrown in a cell - in the dark, nothing to eat but spiders - nothing to drink but fucking _cappuccino_... He laid his head on the greasy table with a whimper.

Even if he did manage to come up with something believable, Yuugi would know the truth. Whether or not he'd told the others, the fact remained that _Yuugi knew, _and nothing else really mattered. There was no way that they'd be able to act remotely normal around each other _now_, and the others would surely notice eventually. What would he do _then_...?

After the storm passed, he walked the streets for hours into the night, humming with caffeine and thoughts. Nobody spoke to him, nobody would come near him, until he wanted to scream just for the sound.

* * *

**AN: **Whew! (wipes sweat from brow) I like this chapter much better than the last one, I think :) Of course, this is just an initial opinion - what do _you _think? (hinthintnudgenudge) I guess I should be thanking Yami no Hikari chan for this chapter, because she directed me to this MARVELOUS site: http/ sakuracrisis . ukepile . com / (take out the spaces, o' course). Scanlationsof bunches of different manga and doujinshi, including Kaori Yuki's wonderful 'Boys Next Door' that I've been stalking for ages :D (in otaku heaven) But enough of my rambling; hopefully the website will keep ya'll entertained for a bit, because I have a couple other stories that I need to update before I can work on this again, heh heh. I'm aiming for, say, 7/21 (three weeks)... that's horrible, isn't it? t.t (bow, bow)


	4. Three Little Words

**Disclaimer: **_Jeepers_, mister!

**AN: **-.- In regards to the title, I have nothing to say for myself, except... _please _tell me you saw it coming :D This chapter would've been out sooner, but I got shipped off to camp for a week and managed to write a grand total of two pages the entire time (and not even on this story, heh). It was a fun camp, though, so it's all good. Speaking of that, the band Single File is _horridly_ underrated. Last chapter, people, enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter Three: Three Little Words**_

* * *

On the last day of winter vacation, it rained - a malevolent and biting drizzle, threatening to crystallize at the slightest drop in temperature, which drove all of the inhabitants of Domino indoors for the day. Unfortunately for Yuugi, he'd been shopping when it started, and had been stuck in a clothing store ever since.

He studied the few people passing by from his position leaning against a rack by the window without any real interest. There went a woman, stooped over and clutching a baby to her chest. There went a man in a suit... Yuugi sighed, utterly dejected, and earned a whiff of sarcasm from Yami.

Today was supposed to be his last chance to go out and have some fun before school started again - go to a movie, hit the arcade - but somehow he just couldn't seem to find the energy. He hadn't really felt like hanging out with his friends - maybe it was guilt? Or maybe the group just didn't seem quite the same anymore...

He made a face in self-disgust. There was nothing he could do about it - he needed food - he was just going to have to get wet.

As he set out in search of a restaurant, hunched against the chilling damp, Yami was an encouraging buzz in the back of his head. _'What is there to be so happy about?' _he wondered dryly.

'_School started tomorrow,' _Yami replied matter-of-factly. _'That means you'll finally be able to talk to Jou.'_

'_And what if things don't work out?' _Yuugi didn't even bother to ask what would happen if Jou decided not to come to school.

Yami sent him the feeling of a shrug. _'I really think they will. You're both miserable without the other.'_

Yuugi flushed. _'But not for the same reason!' _Yami chuckled at him, and Yuugi scowled. _'What's funny about that?'_

'_Oh... I don't know...' _Yami's voice trailed off, and Yuugi was left with the irritating feeling that the pharaoh's ghost knew _something_ he didn't.

* * *

Jou, too, had been forced inside by the wretched weather, into a dingy little fast-food place on some nameless street. He had ordered a burger so that they'd let him stay, but the greasy concoction remained untouched on the table in front of him, cooling slowly. He couldn't remember a time when he'd been _less _hungry; it was a bit frightening...

He had pretty much given up on wondering what would happen tomorrow. What was the point of worrying, when it all seemed so surreal? The rain continued to fall outside, people came and went, the sound of traffic reached his ears from a distance, and he _almost _managed to convince himself that tomorrow would surely never come.

He regarded the burger thoughtfully. Well... even if he really wasn't in the mood to eat, he had to admit that his stomach seemed pretty normal... He sighed, and looked away again as someone else walked in.

He wasn't quite sure why he'd looked up just then. Maybe he'd half-noticed the lack of footsteps toward the counter after the door closed? He was tempted to imagine something more dramatic, of course, but that was probably it... yeah... He had to stare at Yuugi for a long time before his brain made the connection. From the way Yuugi stared back, he thought he probably felt the same...

Jou abruptly stood, almost toppling his chair and earning a few looks. Yuugi gave a pained grimace; he didn't wait to see more, turning instead while hoping desperately for a back exit. He'd just managed to locate one, when he felt a tug on the back of his jacket. "Stop," Yuugi said, in a strangely thick voice.

Jou was certain that he only stood there in a numb daze for a few seconds, but already a murmur was spreading through the small restaurant. He clenched his jaw, vowing that he at least wouldn't look at the other boy's face, and reached back to grab Yuugi's wrist and dragged him out the door.

The back door led to a small alley, empty except for a few green dumpsters. The rain and wind were very cold. Jou studied the wall, and pretended fiercely that he wasn't acutely aware of Yuugi standing behind him, of Yuugi's slim wrist still in his hand... "If you've got something to say, y'know..." he commented, trying for aloofness.

Yuugi sniffled miserably. "Oh my God... I... I'm so glad to see you! I was so worried..." He sounded, Jou noticed, a little amazed.

"Gee, I'm so sorry," he bit out sarcastically in spite of himself. Yuugi still hadn't tried to pull away...

Yuugi bowed his head. "I know... it was my fault. I was really awful - I even thought about, about breaking up the friendship - it's just been too awkward..." Jou had just decided that Yuugi was definitely crying, when the smaller boy suddenly buried his face in Jou's back; Jou's entire body went rigid, and then nearly collapsed... "...but I don't think I'd even realize just how worried I'd been..."

"We could go back to being just friends," Jou choked, too stunned to ever really wonder about what he was saying. "It'd be no problem, you'd see... we could just forget any of this ever happened... _please_-"

Yuugi seemed to suddenly become aware of himself, and took a stiff step back in surprise. "What...?" He grimaced again, and tried to use Jou's hold on his wrist to turn to blond to face him. "I... don't think we can do that... Jou, look at me-" Jou grudgingly looked over his shoulder, "-how could we ever...? Everything's changed."

Jou frowned at him. "But... You do know that I - I liked you - for a long time... The only difference is that I'm not hiding it anymore! I'm still the same person." His frown deepened in distaste. "If I tell you that I don't like you that way anymore, then there's really no difference at all, right?"

Yuugi maintained eye contact for another moment out of startlement, but then looked away. "Well - it's not like I'm a homophobe, that's not what I mean at all... but, if you ever did like me, and didn't tell me - you probably treated me differently, and I thought it was just the way you treated all your friends - were you even the same person I thought I was friends with?" He blanched abruptly, realizing just what exactly he'd said, and looked up, but Jou beat him to the punch as he looked forward again.

"Well, if you're going to act like _this_, then maybe you're not the same person I thought I was in love with." He dropped his hold on Yuugi's wrist at last, and started to walk away... arms wrapped around his waist...

They stood there for a long moment, get warm. Jou allowed his eyes to close; all of a sudden he felt strangely, wonderfully relaxed. Good Lord, he'd actually said it right at last, first sign of the end days... Eventually Yuugi muttered, "Don't go away again. I was too lonely... we're just going to have to make this work, I guess."

"As friends?" Jou breathed.

"I don't think we can go back to being friends." Jou frowned.

"But you just said-" His eyes flickered open in surprised realization as a small blush crept over his face, and then they slide shut again, and he smiled.

* * *

_The first day of school finally came. Jou cheerfully fed his friends the story about the old rival gang members (though minus the cappuccinos); they knew it was a lie, and hounded him for the rest of the day. Normally he wouldn't have been able to resist, but whenever he met Yuugi's eyes, they couldn't help but laugh._

* * *

_**Owari**_

* * *

**AN: **_Cheeeeeese. _Sorry for any instances of severe crappiness (could you even tell the difference?); I was struck with a dreadful case of I-hate-this-fic-thank-goodness-it's-almost-over-itis. Now that it _is_ over, I'm kind of sad that I didn't put in a bit more effort, but at the same time I'm too disinterested to go back and change anything -.o; Rest assured, you can make me feel all better by telling me that it was _not _crap, in a lovely review! (smirk) Ja-ne, yo :)


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